1.3 million iPhones have had a very strange journey indeed. They are manufactured in China, shipped uniquely to the United States and Europe… and then smuggled right back to where they came from- China. Once back there, the phones are jailbroken and re-sold at higher prices to eager Chinese customers.
Apple must be kicking itself for not seeing this coming. They could have easily launched an unlocked iPhone at the same time that they were releasing the locked AT&T version for about double the price. They didn’t, though, and now they are stuck in an agreement with AT&T that prevents them from cashing in on this massive foreign market. AT&T doesn’t win either- since an unlocked iPhone is not available on retail shelves, people are doing it themselves and preventing AT&T from getting their share of the iPhone’s sale price (and obviously, the subsequent monthly fee). Selling an unlocked iPhone would work for everyone, so why not just do it? Hopefully Apple will get it right next time. What do you think?
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